FIRE DEPARTMENTS STEAM Fireboat termination raises concerns VANCOUVER CITY’S recent decision to decommission its fireboat, effective Jan. 1, 1988, has produced little concern from some local waterfront industrial users, but lots of concern from local fire departments. “It’s ridiculous not to have a fireboat for a harbor of this size,’’ said North Vancouver City Fire Department Chief Doug Cairns. “The loss of the boat will have repercussions. We don’t con- tribute to keeping the fire boat, but it was something that was always there if we needed it,’? he ‘said. North Vancouver District Fire Department Chief Archie Steacy, said the boat provides the water pumping capacity needed to bat- tle wharf fires from the water. “As a fire chief with water- front responsibilities, I'd like to see the fireboat in place. Land- based support is not sufficient. We need waterside protection,” ; said Steacy. The boat, although not directly supported by North Shore municipalities, has traditionally i been available on an hourly fee basis — this year approximately i $33,000 per hour. “They (Vancouver) asked both the city and district years back to contribute to keeping the boat and were refused,” said Cairns. The fireboat, stationed at the north foot of Dunlevy Ave. in Vancouver, was cailed in to help battle the Burrard Terminal elevator fire, which gutted the facility in October 1975. ‘‘If the fireboat hadn’t been there, the galleries and the wharf would have burned right down,’’ said Steacy, who was on the scene at By MICHAEL BECKER the time. In 1957, North Vancouver District Fire Department called in the fireboat to battle a blaze at the Lions Gate Sawmill. But Vancouver Wharves presi- dent Harry Wood said the fireboat isn’t a critical factor in the fire safety of his North Shore operation. “The fireboat is so far away and so slow that a fire would have to reach cataclysmic pro- portions here before it could be put out,”’ said Wood. Vancouver Wharves primarily depends on the North Vancouver District. Fire Department two- minute response time plus its own internal system of hydrants, hoses, sprinklers and firefighting-trained staff. ‘‘The fire boat is peripheral to us. Over the last 25 years, the fire boat hasn’t added or subtracted to our fire safety,’’ said Wood. He estimates it would take 15 minutes for a response from the fireboat to Vancouver Wharves. “The fireboat was designed to IN WAKE OF FIREBOAT LOSS Port scrambles for VANCOUVER PORT Corporation is scrambling for solutions to maintain port fire protection in the wake of Vancouver city’s recent decision to scrap its fireboat. Said Vancouver Port Corpora- tion manager of corporate com- munications. Barbara Duggan, “We are going to be using the coming months to assess the fire protection requirements for Bur- rard Inlet and ‘how other ports are addressing their needs. ‘*We will be using this time to make sure there is no time that the port will have less than ade- quate protection. There will be ne void.”” An option currently under consideration is the installation By MICHAEL BECKER News Reporter of monitors on tugs. The monitors consist of high-capacity sea-water pumps with nozzles in- stalled on tug decks. ; “Some ports do not use fireboats. The port of Saint John, New Brunswick, works with tugs only,” she said. ‘‘Tugs are very maneuverable and the response time is good because 3 . Sunday. June a 1987 - North Shore News fight creosote timber jetty fires. The answer in the short and mid-term is sufficient on-site ca- pability and waterside support from tugs using monitors for fast response.”’ Saskatchewan Wheat Pool terminal superintendent Keith Broeder said losing the fireboat will not affect the safety of the Operation. ‘‘We’re connected to the city water mains and we have extensive sprinkler systems. Most of the facility is non-combustible concrete and metal construc- tion,’’ said Broeder. ‘Our main concern regarding the fireboat is for the safety of the ships in har- bor.’”’ John Willcox, president of Neptune Terminals, agreed that the loss of the fireboat isn’t a major concern, pointing to the fast response time from the local fire department. r Although Vancouver still has 14 wooden docks, 11 of which cannot support land-based fire equipment, Cairns confirmed that most of the waterfront facil- ities on the North Shore are con- crete and metal and are relatively easily accessible by the municipal fire departments. ‘‘There are still § a few wooden piers left at Ver- satile, but they are being phased out.’” fire safety solution they are out there on the job already.”’ But Terry Waghorn, president of C.H. Cates & Sons, the North Vancouver-based tug company which handles ship berthing for Vancouver harbor, said monitors on tugs can’t offer complete pro- tection on the waterfront. ‘*Today’s fires are dif- ferent.You’ve got chemicals and plastics out there. It’s not simply a case of pouring water on some- thing,’’ said Waghorn. “Monitors are all right. We would assist in any way possible, but people in the tugboat in- dustry are not firemen. The fireboat is necessary,’’ he said. To date, the company has not | been formally approached by the port corporation about installing monitors on tugs. “The fireboat is something the port should subsidize. It’s some- thing we should have and hope- fully never have to use. I haven’t seen a fire truck yet that could negotiate across water,’’ said Waghorn. The budget for the city fireboat was axed May 27 by Vancouver City Council despite a | lobby from city fire chief Donald Pamplin and a plea from the Vancouver Port Corp. urging the ¢ city to defer a decision pending further study of the issue. N. Van break-in deemed a fraud A NORTH VANCOUVER resident has been charged with fraud and public mischief after a police investigation has concluded he falsely reported a break, enter and theft. Sixty-seven-year-old The value of items missing Clarence Arthur Billett, a was estimated at approx- former Victoria policeman, imately $54,000 by the had told North Vancouver owner. RCMP a large quantity of Continuing investigation items had been stolen from by police concluded the of- his Lynn Valley home Oct. fence in fact had aot taken 17, 1986. “place. . Alleged entry was gained Billett, of 1350 Frederick by breaking a window on an in North Vancouver, is exterior door and every scheduled to appear in room was ransacked, Billett North Vancouver provincial had claimed. court. NEWS photo Stuart Davis ABOUT 100 people showed up at the latest installment of meetings held by the Committee for Suite Justice Wednesday at Queen Mary School. District resident Dwight Rouse ponders the ramifications of the district's proposed plans for the legalization of in-law suites and phase-out of all other secondary suites in NV DISTRICT ILLEGAL SUITES Former mayor favors in-law suites INDEX Business .... Classified Ads.......47 Doug Collins .. Comics Editorial Page Fashion . Bob Hunter... Weather: Sunday through Tuesday, mainly sunny. Highs near 23°C. From page 1 said the current district proposal adopted to legalize in-law suites and phase-out illegal secondary suites 1s a reasonable approach. ; “7 think that there is a social- economic argument for secondary suites, but if you allow, what is in effect, duplexing in single-family zoned areas, you are defeating the zoning .bylaws. Maybe the district should have a duplex zone,’’ said Bell. Bell said the illegal suite issue surfaced several times during his time on council and during his time as mayor of the district from 1976 to 1982, Bell said during his time in the municipal arena he favored area and spot duplex zoning subject to local residents’ referendum. ‘‘It would have to make sense from a broader planning point of view. The big problem is that services like sewers, parks and schools have been installed on single-family zoning,’’ he said. Said Crist, who attended Wed- nesday’s meeting: ‘The new bylaw recognizes the facts of life. Per- sonally, if I had my way, we'd make all existing secondary suites legally non-conforming.” the basis of lifestyles ......... Mailbox. . What's Going On....